Classic Vegan Chili

It’s SO cold in Utah right now! The other morning when I woke up it was -1˚ F. I can’t remember it getting that cold here in quite a few years. Of course I can’t really complain because I heard parts of Montana were getting down to -35˚F! Ok, I can’t even imagine what that would feel like and I don’t want to know, haha!

When it’s cold out, hot soup is just a natural. Plus it’s such a good way to sneak loads of veggies into your diet (or sneak veggies into the diet of veggie haters). Chop vegetables up small and you won’t even notice they’re there. Soup is skinny food too! I ate this chili every day for 7 days straight and now that I’m thinking about it, I want to make it again. It’s super easy too as long as you have a food processor.

Lilly is not a huge fan of the cold. I tell ya, she doesn’t dilly dally outside when it’s 7 degrees. She just goes out, takes care of business and comes right back in! That’s been the nice part about the cold because usually she wants to mosey around forever while I stand there and watch.

Lilly wears a little sweater now that it’s cold. She pretty much just stays huddled up in her bed. Her ear is so much better too! I can tell she feels better because she wakes me up at 5am every day just so she can say hi. Lilly’s way of saying hi is to squeal and throw herself on you while snorting the whole time. I swear, I got the most hyper-active pug on the planet. Note: hyperactivity not shown below.

Oh, and I start physical therapy for my leg/ankle this week! It’s already been 8 weeks since I ruptured that tendon. I still have to wear my boot for 3 more weeks (that’s when I see my Dr) but the end is finally in sight! I was really anxious about not being able to workout for 11 weeks. I thought I would go crazy and I was really afraid I’d gain a bunch of weight. But gladly, neither of those happened. I’ve taken the last 8 weeks to work on my flexibility and catch up on reading. So even though I haven’t been able to work out, I feel like I have definitely improved other aspects of my wellness which I have been extremely thankful for.

Alright, here’s that soup recipe! I got this recipe out of my “Appetite for Reduction” cookbook. It’s one of my favorite cookbooks and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for ways to eat more vegetables, vegan or not, it’s a great cookbook. I modified this recipe slightly to fit ingredients I had on hand. Feel free to substitute any vegetable you like!

Preheat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions and bell pepper in oil until translucent, 4-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
Mix in the carrot, zucchini and corn. Add the vegetable broth, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper.
Cover the pot and bring to a boil, keeping a close eye on it. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, and cilantro, cover and cook for about 10 more minutes. Mix in the brown sugar and lime juice. Taste for salt and seasoning and serve over some cooked quinoa (optional).

The author of this recipe was nice enough to include nutrition facts for this recipe. One serving is 1/6 the recipe and doesn’t include the quinoa if you choose to serve it that way.

Calories: 200
Fat: 2.5g
Carb: 38g
Fiber: 12g
Sugars: 10g
Protein: 11g

Have a great week! I’m behind on blogging as usual but I have tons of good stuff to post, I promise!